Softball Game Preview: Crab Orchard Trojans vs. Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton Bearcats

The Crab Orchard Trojans will challenge the Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton Bearcats at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Crab Orchard is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.

Crab Orchard's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Norris City-Omaha-Enfield as Crab Orchard made off with a 10-0 victory. Considering the Trojans have won five contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Jada Burnett-Hatton

Batters Struck Out

03/27/25 vs Norris City-Omaha-Enfield	15
03/24/25 @ Frankfort	9
03/22/25 vs Marissa	10
03/19/25 @ Harrisburg	8
03/17/25 vs Shawnee	10

Jada Burnett-Hatton was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 15 over six innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't tossed less than eight strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBI.

In other batting news, Aubrey Holmes was excellent, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024. Adri Ortega was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3.

Crab Orchard hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most two strikeouts in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton had to hit the road for their first game and it wasn't the result they were hoping for. They lost 14-4 to Sparta last Wednesday.

Crab Orchard's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-0. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton, their loss dropped their record down to 0-1.

Crab Orchard suffered a grim 15-8 defeat to Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton in their previous matchup back in March of 2018. Can Crab Orchard avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.